Meghan Markle likes 'control of the narrative' says royal expert

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The Duchess of Sussex released a new episode of Archetypes today, following a three-week break prompted by the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8. Speaking with stand-up comedian Margaret Cho and journalist and broadcaster analyst Lisa Ling, Meghan analysed the trope known as “Dragon Lady”.

This typecast affects Asian women and those of Asian descent and used to be very present in films.

As explained during the fourth episode of Archetypes, it comes from a “fantasy of Orientalism” and sees a character similar to the Femme Fatale, a woman who is beautiful but deadly.

Prior to starting analysing the Dragon Lady trope, Meghan recalled growing up in Los Angeles and being exposed to several different cultures “you could see, feel, hear and taste on a daily basis”.

After saying she loved getting to know other cultures, the Duchess of Sussex spoke of when she used to go to a Korean spa with her mother Doria Ragland.

She said: Now, for those of you who haven’t been before, it’s a very humbling experience for a girl going through puberty.

“Because you enter a room with women from age nine to maybe 90, all walking around naked and waiting to get a body scrub on one of these tables that are all lined up in a row.

“All I wanted was a bathing suit! But you are not allowed, by the way.

“And once I was over that adolescent embarrassment my mum and I would go upstairs, sit in a room and we would have a steaming bowl of the most delicious noodles.”

At the time, Meghan added, this was part of the knowledge of Asian culture she had growing up and was not familiar with the more damaging stereotypes faced by Asian women for many years.

The return of this series, much awaited by fans of Meghan, was announced last week on the official Spotify page of Archetypes.

The brief message read: “Regularly scheduled episodes will resume Tuesday, October 4.”

Prior to the release of today’s show, titled The Demystification of Dragon Lady, Meghan’s last episode was published on September 6.

It featured a conversation with actor and writer Mindy Kaling surrounding the stigma, challenges and joys of being single.

In a confession which touched Ms Kaling, the Duchess said she was an “ugly duckling” growing up.

Moreover, she recalled being annoyed at the narrative sparked after her relationship with Prince Harry became public, with many telling her she was “lucky” he had “chosen” her.

She said: “And, at a certain point, after you hear it a million times over, you’re like, ‘Well, I chose him, too’.”

She added: “But, thankfully, I have a partner who was countering that narrative for me and going, ‘They’ve got it all wrong. I’m the lucky one ’cause you chose me.’

“But it’s, it is gendered and it’s archetyped and it’s stereotyped that… you’re so lucky.

“And it just feeds into this idea that you’re waiting for someone to tell you that you’re good enough, as opposed to knowing that you’re good enough on your own.”

The first episode of Archetypes, which focuses on discussing and analysing typecasts which try to hold women back, focused on ambition and how this word can take a negative connotation when used on a woman.

The Duchess spoke about this with her friend and tennis champion Serena Williams.

During the episode, Meghan also revealed a fire broke out in the nursery where her son Archie was supposed to be sleeping on the first day of the Sussexes’ tour to South Africa in 2019.

She also seemingly criticised Buckingham Palace aides for telling her and Harry to carry on with their day of engagements after it was clear that, while people were shaken by the upsetting event, nobody had been hurt.

In the second episode, Meghan spoke with songwriter Mariah Carey of the “duality” of the world “diva”.

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